Garment-supporter



NITED STATES .PATENT OFFICE.

HELEN F. MORRIS, OF BLOOMEIELD, NEW JERSEY.

GARMENT-'SUPPORTEFL SPECXFCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 540,817, dated' J' une il, 1895.

v Application filed April 19, 1895. Serial No. 546,326- (No model.)

To all whom t may concern-1 Be it known that HELEN F. MORRIS, o Bloomeld, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Garment-Supporters, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference beingmade to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification` This invention relates to improvements in devices which comprise va waist belt and shoulder-straps and which are adapted to support stockings or other garments covering the legs and. lower part of the body, and the invention consists of a garment-supporter containing shoulder-straps of peculiar construction, a triangular piece of fabric forming a connection between the shoulder-straps andv waist-band, and similar triangular pieces secured to the Waist-band and extending'downward therefrom, the several parts of the supporter being constructed and arranged substantially as herein described and claimed.

The accompanying drawing represents a rear view of the supporter in perspective.

The reference numerals on the drawing' designate the different parts of which the supporter is composed. p

The object of this invention is to improve the structure of garment-supporters comprising a waist-band and shoulder-straps so as to render the shoulder-straps not liable to slip off the shoulders when the supporters are vin use, to allow movement of the arms without troublesome restraint by the shoulder-straps, to distribute the strain evenly upon substantially all of the back part of the belt. and to protect the person or underclothing from injury by metallic fastenings, such for example as those with which stocking-Suspenders are commonly provided, and it is furthermore the object of the invention to adapt such supporters to hold up not only stockings but also drawers or boys pants in addition to the stock'- ings, so that a waist need not be worn witha supporter.

The waist-belt 1 is made of strong cloth like muslin, drill or duck, and is provided close to its ends with buttons and button-holes l0 or other suitable means for fastening them together. The ends of the belt meet in front of the body. To the back part of the belt is stitched a triangular piece 2 of similar cloth which extends equal distances on opposite sides of the middle l1 of the belt to points 20. The distance from one of these points to the other is preferably about one third of the whole length of the belt. The piece 2 projects upward from the upper edge of the belt about as far as each of the points 2O is distant from the middle of the belt. The angle formed by its edges 2l and 22, Within which the apex 23 is included, is therefore either a right angle or approximately that.

The shoulder-straps 3 are secured to the piece 2 close to the apex 23 as shown at 24, and to the front parts of the beltat or near the places numbered l2. Each shoulder-strap contains a section or sections 30 of elastic Webbing which constitute the parts of the shoulder-straps that rest upon the shoulders when the supporter is worn. These pieces of web` bing are sewed'to the adjacent parts of the shoulder-straps, those parts being non-elastic.

The triangular pieces 4 which project below. the belt are so arranged thereon that when the supporter is in use. they are located on the sides of the body over the hips. They are sewed to the belt near its upper edge but not at or near its lower edge. They extend past the points 2O toward the middle of the belt to points 40, which are equally distant y from the middle of the belt and about half as far apart as are the points 20, and their edges 4l and 42, produced across the piece 2, are parallel or nearly parallel respectively to the edges 21 and 22 of that piece.

The stocking-Suspenders 5 are attached to the pieces 4, preferably at points 43, which are about midway between the edges of the belt and on or near the lin'es obtained by producing the edges 2l and 22 of the piece 2 across the pieces 4. Fastening devices like those shown, or others of a different kind, may be used to attach the Suspenders to the supporter. Those shown comprise pins which are passed through entirely on the outside of the pieces 4, and are by them prevented from making contact with the person or underclothing behind them, the buttons being attached to the pieces 4 at or near the points 43.

Buttons are secured to the belt near its lower edge as shown at 14, there being others not shown under or behind the pieces 4. It is by means of these buttons together with the lower of those numbered 10 on the front of the belt that drawers or boys pants are attached to the belt.

In some cases it may be desirable to connect the shoulderfstraps with each other by a strap 6, which extends across the breast of the person and which is composed of two parts provided with a fastening whereby the parts are held together. This strap is useful if the supporter is worn by a child for example of a peculiar form that would render the shoulder-straps liable to slip off the shoulders, but in ordinary cases such a strap is not required to keep the shoulder-straps in their proper positions on the shoulders.

lVhen the supporteris constructed as abov described it is adapted to hold up stockings and drawers. The drawers are buttoned to the waistband between and under or behind the pieces 4, so they do not interfere with the stocking-Suspenders which extend downward outside of the drawers to the stockings. To adapt the supporter to hold up boys pants and stockings the pieces 4 are stitched tothe waist-belt on the inside, instead of on the outside as shown. Then when the pants are buttoned to the belt, the stocking-Suspenders are inside of the pants. This result may also be obtained by providing the belt with a row of buttons near the top and attaching the pants thereto outside ofthe pieces 4, the waist-band of the pants being even with tbe upper edge of the belt.

Under ordinary circumstances the shoulder-straps are not liable to slip olf the shoulders since the strain transmitted to the supporter by the stockingsuspenders, acting upon the shoulder-straps along the edges 2l and 22 of the piece 2 from the points 2O as well as between those points, tends to draw each shoulder-strap toward the hip on the opposite side of the body, while in consequence of the relations between the pieces 2 and 4 and the back of the belt the strain is extended ou opposite sides of the middle of the belt to the points 2O and distributed between those points, without causing the belt to wrinkle or rendering the supporter otherwise objectionable.

The elastic webbing 30 inserted in the shoulder-straps allows almost unrestrained movement of the arms and tends to prevent a sudden strain from disrupting the straps or some other part of the supporter.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-e 1. A garment'supporter com prisinga waistbelt 1, a triangular piece 2 projecting upward from the back of the belt, and shoulder-straps secured to the piece 2 close to the apex 23 and to the front parts of the belt, the width of the piece 2 at its intersection with the belt being greater than the distance on the same line between the shoulder-straps produced, substantially as described.

2. A garment-supporter comprising a waistbelt l, a triangular piece 2 extending along the belt approximately one third of the length of the belt and projecting upward from the belt approximately one half of that distance, and shoulder-straps secured to the piece 2 close to the apex 23 and to the front parts of the belt at or near the points 12, substantially as described.

3. A garment-supporter comprising a waistbelt 1, a triangular piece 2 projecting upward from the belt, and shoulder-straps 3 secured to the piece 2 close to the apex 23 and to the front parts of the belt at or near the points `12 and containing short elastic sections 30 inserted between non-elastic sections at the places where the straps rest upon the shoulders, substantially as described.

4. Agarment-supporter comprising a waistbelt l, a triangular piece 2 projecting upward from the belt, shoulder-straps secured to the piece 2 close to the apex 23 and to the front parts of the belt at or near the points 12, and pieces 4 on the sides of the supporter attached at the top to the belt and projecting downward therefrom, substantially as described.

5. A garmeutsupporter comprising a waistbelt 1, a triangular piece 2 extending in opposite directions from the middle of the belt to the points 20, shoulder-straps secured to the piece 2 close to the apex 23 and to the front parts of the belt, and pieces 4 attached at the top to the belt near its upper edge and projecting downward therefrom and extending past the points 2O toward the middle of the belt to the points 40, substantially as dcscribed.

HELEN F. MORRIS.

In presence of- MAUD THOMPSON, ROSA M. THoMPsoN.

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